Tag Archives: alaskametro

“Time of my Life!”

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Vintage Fair is going on at the moment and even if the oder was “pre 80s” for the theme at the event, I could not resist to do another colorful 80s post with some items and designs I found there. The center of my style this time was the cool “Discordia” top from The Annex. Certainly you can style that top in a 70s style as well, but as you can see 80s works too.

Believe it or not, the Vintage Fair is one of my favorite events in Second Life. I know many of you know I am a friend of weird and dark things, but vintage styles especially the 20s to 50s are times and styles that really touch me somehow. Maybe it is because of the music. I love Swing, Rock ‘n’ Roll and Rockabilly! I do have some more vintage posts prepared, but I wanted to start with that cool top as it caught my attention from the moment I put it on the first time. The top is available in 5 different colors and made for Maitreya.

What perfectly fit the 80s look where the “Star Boots”, made by [Gos]. The certainly come with a color HUD, but that silver colors was so perfect for that look. On the picture above you can see a few more colors, but not all of the them 😉 In total you get 15 colors for the main boot, 5 for the lining, 2 for the heel, tread and laces and 3 different metals. For the heel, if you want it the same color as the shoes, you simply can chose the main boot color as that includes the heel, too.

Another cool thing I wanted to talk about is the LeLutka Axis HUD. I know, it is around for a while, but I still get asked how I do my facial expressions apart from the ready made ones you can buy for the LeLutka heads. The HUD is not limited to LeLutka only. You can animate other brands heads as well. I tried it myself with LAQ and Logo and I was asking a friend, that uses Catwa and she said it works too. The only tricky part is expressions with the tongue involved as those seem to react a little different. Other than that, the Axis HUD worked on the other heads just fine for me (You always can try the demo). If you want the full information, you always can look at the LeLutka website (http://lelutka.com/blog/axis-hud/)

That HUD opened a new world of close up pictures for me – not only close ups but there you can see the most impact certainly, if you have the face in your focus. With the Axis HUD you can either create a fully new expression OR you can alter expressions that you already have for your head. Since my English is not the best I would like to quote something from the website that explains the most important infos of the HUD:

“Most of what you need to know about getting started can be found on the info pages which show on HUD itself when you first wear it. You can return to those info pages at any time you like by clicking the “i” button on the top of your HUD.

You can click and drag on the point grids to rotate each facial bone on one, two or three axis, depending on the bone. Three axis bones such as the lip bones have an extra row underneath the main point grid which you can use to rotate the bone on the third axis. There are also larger circles at the edges of the brows and lips which allow you to move several bones together. Once you have the expression just how you like it, you can save your animation set into a savorite at the bottom of the HUD if you want to recall it later.

You can also target up to three other avatars and individually set up unique facial animations for group photos or just a bit of fun.”

I tried the HUD not only o myself, but as well with my partner and me no a picture and it worked perfectly.I was wearing the “Simone” head while he was wearing a Catwa one and it worked without any issues (https://www.flickr.com/photos/wiccamerlin/45078595804/in/dateposted-public/)

I was able to create way more moods and expressions, what really raised the bar for my pictures in my view. I am able to even more expressing emotions or having fun moments that without that HUD!

Last but not least – yes that again is a longer post, but there was so many details that should not be overlooked 🙂 – I would like to draw your attention to my hairstyle. It was made by no.match and is called “No.Stress”. You can find it at the actual round of eBENTO. Usually I prefer blond, because of my no eyebrow trademark. But today, for my 80s look I felt I should have some more colored hair, that as well is one of the reasons for me wearing eyebrows today 😉 For me it was the first time, that I touched the ‘unicorn’ color HUD from no.match – after seeing it I know it will not be the last time :p

I hope you enjoyed my little 80s trip as much as I did, tomorrow we will go back a little more in time I guess 😉

Clothing

Top: The Annex – “Discordia Top – Red” (Maitreya) – NEW @ Vintage Fair

Shorts: adorsy – “Sharon Jeans Shorts” (Maitreya)

Shoes: [Gos] – “Star Boots” (Maitreya)

Gloves: L’Emporio – “Fingerless Gloves” (Maitreya, Bento)

Stockings: {Luxuria} – “Spring Summer 19 Knee Heighs” (Maitreya Applier)

Legs: [ SAKIDE ] – “Yleria” (Maitreya)

Accessories

Headphones: BONDI – “The Retro Headphones” – NEW @ Vintage Fair

Collar: -[ darkling ]- – “Angelique Collar” (Maitreya)

Upper Arms: .:E.A.Studio:. – “Pyper 69 Upper Arms”

Piercing 1: BLAXIUM – “Dangerous” (LeLutka Simone, Bento)

Piercing 2: BLAXIUM – “Jaiden Chain Piercing”

Nails: BLAXIUM – “Mikah Nails” (Maitreya, Bento)

Hair &  Makeup

Eyebrows: Izzie’s – “Vintage Summer Brows” (LeLutka Applier)

Hair: no.match – “No.Stress”

Eyeshadow: ALMA – “Alba” (LeLutka Applier)

Lipstick: alaskametro<3 – “New Wave” (LeLutka Applier)

Body & Tattoo

Head: LeLutka – “Simone 3.3”

Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”

Tattoo: ((Mister Razzor)) – “Betina Tattoo – 75%” (Omega Applier) – NEW @ Vintage Fair

Poses & Props

Poses: Poseidon – “Hip Hop” & “Idols”

Set:

Backdrop: Foxcity – “Photo Booth – Neon Storm”

Couch: Foxcity – “Tasty AF (2) Diner Sofa” (Gacha)

Speakers: Daffy’s Gadgetmania Club Equipment and Structure Designs – “-[GFX- 800]- Mesh Advanced Speakers”

Clock: Visual Magick – “Retro Neon Clock – Bepis Cola”- NEW @ Vintage Fair

Sign: Saintstreet – “Neon Lady Symbol” (Gacha)

Model & Photographer

Wicca Merlin

What now?!?

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“Am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the world
Planet Earth is blue
And there’s nothing I can do
Though I’m past one hundred thousand miles
I’m feeling very still
And I think my spaceship knows which way to go…”
[David Bowie]

Yes, I know… Cyberpunk Fair is over, but it seems I am not yet done with my sci-fi moods :p

Today it is less cyberpunk that actual real sci-fi I guess, but that doesn’t matter – I love both anyways 🙂

Today I was going to try something in a space capsule, like I would be on a mission to a new planet. I guess I watched too much movies like “Elysium, Interstellar, The Martian or my absolute favourite one – Serenity including the series of Firefly” again, which dragged me in such a mood. But that was cool, as I anyways wanted to showcase the new “THX Sci-Fi Set 1” from Ex Machina. The whole set contains console, cannister, crate and lamp… the lamp I will have to add into another post, as it did not look right for my picture of a space capsules cargo bay and that was what I was going for.

I do not know what it is, that attracts me so much about futuristic thoughts – Maybe it is the desire to know what will come? Maybe it is the desire to see something new? Maybe it is just something very human that you start thinking where you could go if the human race finally destroyed the earth completely? I have no idea, but I do enjoy movies and stories about that, as well I like to play with those thoughts in Second Life.

The cool backdrop was made by The Bearded Guy for a gacha set and I guess it was the rare piece of that gacha. I loved the way how you can look out the back window and see another planet. That gave such a cool cargo bay feeling that the “THX Sci-Fi Set 1” did fit on so perfect. The idea behind the scenes was, that I was on a mission and something went wrong and I tried to figure out what to do next, to not screw up completely. That as well gave me a brief idea for my pose choices.

For my outfit I chose some parts that I got at the CyberPunk  Fair from Flair for Events, which was ending not too long ago, but I think most of the creators will have their items in their main stores by now.

A few of you asked me, why I am wearing the same makeup for a few posts now already… that has  simple reason. I do have an everyday look where I do use an eyeshadow from Zibska and a natural lipstick from alaskametro<3 and for a casual look, or even a mechanics look I would feel weird wearing heavy makeups. There is ties where you just do not need makeup, even if your inventory is full of it and you got already more than you ever can use *snickers*

Another reason is, that I sometimes do want to show the heads more pure than covered in tons of makeup, to show that they are still mega versatile even without makeups and fancy face paints 😉 Like today, I am wearing the “Simone” head from LeLutka again – my everyday “Wicca Face” head. Today I wanted her to have a more bad girl, cool chick with the focus on the face it self and on the piercings. Plus the glasses would have covered anyways most of the eyeshadow.

I hope you enjoyed my little Sci-Fi mood today – Now I have to jump back into my GoT mood for my next post 😉 That is one of the nice things about Second Life… you can change looks, times and genres in like seconds!

Clothing

Outfit: AsteroidBox – “Erebus Outfit” (Maitreya)

Jacket: {Psycho.Byts} – “N.i.x – N.i.g.h.t – Vest Green” (Maitreya, Gacha)

Gloves: Wicca’s Originals – “Roadie Gloves” (Maitreya, Bento)

Accessories

Necklace: Avada – “Denari”

Upper Arms: :::SOLE::: – “SA – Armtech Mk.4”

Glasses: :::SOLE::: – “SA – Glasses Shinkan White (Black)”

Piercing 1: :Z.S: – “Spiked Snake Bites” (LeLutka, Simone)

Piercing 2: BLAXIUM – “Venerosa Piercing” (LeLutka, Simone)

Nails: Meva – “Bento Nails 3” (Maitreya, Bento)

Hair & Makeup

Hair: .shi – “Kuwn”

Makeup: Zibska – “Noir Pack 06” (LeLutka Applier)

Lipstick: alaskametro<3 – London” (LeLutka Applier)

Body & Tattoos

Head: LeLutka – “Simone 3.3”

Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”

Ears: .:E.A.Studio:. – “Aksuna”

Tattoo: THIS IS WRONG – “Falken” (Maitreya Applier)

Poses & Props

Poses: Foxcity

Backdrop: The Bearded Guy – “Going to The Hole *RARE* – SCI FI Backdrops” (Gacha)

Furniture: Ex Machina – “THX Sci-Fi Set 1”

Model & Photographer

Wicca Merlin

“Wait for me at 8 o’clock” he said…

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“Alone in the room, she impatiently waited
No aphrodisiac could have kept her sedated
Quietly, he entered, his scent filled the room
He knew her lust for him, would be her doom…”
[Dorinda Duclos]

Today I was in a little bit of a fetish mood and wanted to play a little bit *grins*

The “Aida” head from LeLutka, had such cute, but as well smart touch for me, that I came across the idea of a girl waiting for her Master coming home. I read many novels and books about BDSM and submission. Many of them had the situation in them, about a girl being at home waiting for her Master’s return (from work or what ever). Even in the Fifty Shades of Grey fairytale, he wants her to wait kneeling at the door of the playroom when he enters. That kind of situation I had in mind when I was taking todays pictures.

I did not want to do a mainstream nude or lingerie picture and when I found the “Leonie” dress from amias, I could not resist to use that one and pimp it a little bit with the “Collar of O” And the “Dandy Harness” from Salt & Pepper.

Today I would love to talk a little bit about shapes. I had a talk with a dear friend lately and she creates shapes. During my modeling times, I have to admit I never was wearing pre-made shapes.  I learned in several model schools, that the shape/face is the models trademark and somehow that is true. I come from a time in SL where we not even yet dreamed of sculpts or mesh or other body parts than the system body Second Life gave us. So we had to learn how to make our own unique shape and be able to change and twist it if needed for clothing, skins or accessories. When the first generation of sculpted body parts came out or even more when the first generation of bento heads came out – the static ones – it was quite a problem as all of a sudden we could not anymore work on our faces more than having different skins to make them look at least a bit different from others that bought the same head. When the next generation of the bento heads came out we all were kinda relieved as we now had at least a little bot of our freedom back to customize our facial shape again a little more due new bones.

While I always made my shapes myself as a model, I learned how handy pre-made shapes can be when I have to to vendors and teasers for the store or if I am showcasing different heads. If you go out and ask people about their shapes, most will snort and tell you, they won’t be up for sale as they made them their own. If you ask others where they bought their shapes they will tell you what kind of a loss of money it would be, as you can make your own shape. But maybe sometimes you do not feel to sit down and make your own shape? Or you tried and they end up looking always the same and you want to look different? Or they do not feel comfortable with what they did because they do have trouble with finding the right proportions? There is various reasons why people try ready made shapes and there is nothing wrong with it. Most of the shapes I know are even modifiable and you can use them as a base to create your own, having a rough idea for the basic numbers of a direction you like.

So, today I am wearing one of WrenNoir Cerise’s shapes. The “Alba” shape from {wren”s nest} was made for the “Aida” head from LeLutka. Most of the shapes nowadays are based on one specific heads, as you can really get funny looks if you do the wrong thing to a shape for a certain head. I sometimes tried for fun to wear shapes made for LeLutka on LAQ heads what really looks incredible funny. Wren usually has more than one shape in her packs – she provides for example a ‘proportional’ one, a ‘slightly curvy’ and a ‘tall & slender’ and if you get lucky sometimes even a ‘BONUS Candy Size’ which is a little smaller and I do love exactly those 🙂 With the “Alba” shape I was lucky, there was a ‘candy size’ one in there. As well you will find different eyebrow shapes in the pack and as well a style-card. The style card might be useful, if you would like to copy the exact look of the vendor picture, because even skins do matter and not every skin will make the shape and/or the head look the same. For this post I did not work on the shape at all, so what you see is exact the one I pulled from the pack, but as I mentioned before, you can modify them!

Next time you get asked, where you have your shape from or if you would know a place where good shapes are sold… don’t drag them down by only saying they should make their own… give them a chance to learn from ready made shapes or just being lazy and still look good 😉

Clothing

Outfit: amias – “Leonie” (Maitreya)

Shoes: Blueberry – “Cupcake Boots – Sharp Heels” (Maitreya)

Accessories

Collar: Salt & Pepper (S&P) – “Collar of O” (Maitreya)

Harness: Salt & Pepper (S&P) – “Dandy Harness” (Miitreya, Gacha, Rare)

Nails: FORMANAILS – “Wedding” (Maitreya, Bento)

Hair & Makeup

Hair: no.match – “No.Click”

Makeup: Zibska – “Noir Pack 06” (LeLutka Applier)

Lipstick: alaskametro<3 – London” (LeLutka Applier)

Body & Tattoos

Head: LeLutka – “Aida 3.3”

Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”

Shape: {wren’s nest} – “Alba Proportional – LeLutka Aida Bento Head”

Skin: alaskametro<3 – “Sunny” (LeLutka/Omega Applier)

Eyes: LeLutka – “Eyes.Korina 3.3”

Poses & Props

Poses: Foxcity

Couch: 22769 – “Chesterfield Couch Black”

Table: DRD – “Bondage Sidetable Dark”

Glass: 22769 – “Martini” (Gacha, Common)

Sculpture 1: 22769 – “The Hidden”

Sculpture 2: 22769 – “Bronze Flamingo Figurines” (Gacha, Common)

Toys: BackBone – “Toy Rack”

Whip: 22769 – “Leather Whip”

Wallart: 22769 – “Metal Wallart” (Gacha, Common)

Model & Photographer

Wicca Merlin

Tokyo after Dark

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Being still in my dark period, I was in a dark casual mood today 😉

I love the “VoDoo” ears so much, I had to do another post with them. I am not a fan of elf ears for everyday looks but sometimes – for what ever reason – I love them not just for a fantasy style.

Today I wanted to showcase one of Ex Machina’s awesome buildings. I rarely saw better structures that are made with more love for the details, than the designs from Hatris Panacek, owner and designer of Ex Machina. It is no secret , that I adore her work, otherwise we never would have asked her to make a custom built store building and most of it’s interior for us. Hattie has amazing skills when it comes to building and as well to texturing. She works so hard to get her realistic looking surfaces done and it pays of every time she does a new release. The “Tokyo after Dark” building is one of her latest creations. On her vendor she states, that his is the first in a set of urban, Japanese, cyberpunk styled buildings. That mean for me we can hope on more of those, which would make me super duper happy, because I LOVE that kind of style 😉

For my pictures I used 2 of the buildings and the amazing street components she delivers with the building. I just turned one of the buildings 90 degrees, so I could showcase the front and the backside as well – I really loved the stair case in the back a lot. I snapped over 10 pictures and I liked all of them. Making a decision was really not easy this time. When I started I just wanted to showcase the amazing “VoDoo” ears and the awesome “Tokyo after Dark” building. But the more I was fooling around with a style the more I got my vibe for that dark urban look. I used the amazing “Bella Leather Pants” from [Gos]. I already blogged those before, but in a more sweet casual style and I wanted to try if they do work for some more dark looks as well – They do!

What as well caught my attention a lot was the new tattoo from Mister Razzor. I love when tattoos go up till parts of the head, but not many are really seamless. The “Dante” tattoo, which was released at the Black Fair not too long ago, did not disappoint in that matter 🙂

Again I am wearing my everyday head from LeLutka. I know the “Simone” bento head was one of the first heads, that LeLutka released when the new bento generation of heads came out, but it is still my absolute favorite one, even if I more and more enjoy the new Korina head as well *winks*

The “Simone” head with a skin from the Skinnery became kinda my trademark. When I first put on the “Simone” head, I wasn’t really sold on the first try, as it looked very young with the default skin from Glam Affair. Since I am in Second Life now for over 10 years I wanted a more adult look for my pixels. I did a lot of things and I did grow up lightly too during my Second Life journey. That I wanted to mirror with my avatar as well. I remember very well the moment when I put on “my” skin. As models we all had quite some trouble when the first mesh heads came out and we all looked the same more or less, while we were told ALWAYS, tht our face would be our trademark in the modeling business. But the bento generation changed that “issues” pretty fast, when we were able again to at least customize our heads a little more again. From that moment on I was in love with my “Simone” head. I tried all the new bento heads from various brands but none was able to satisfy my needs as LeLutka did. What I do love the most on the “Simone” head (and as well on the Korina one), that it is not the usual mainstream beauty. It does have edges and give – depending on the skin – a very characteristic look. With my Skinnery skin and some face modifications from Izzie’s, I was completely sold with my new look and never really changed it drastically again – just some minor shape and other changes here and there 😉

Clothing

Top: [CX] – “Mucronate Top – Leather” (Maitreya)

Pants: [Gos] – “Bella Leather Pants & Belt” (Maitreya)

Shoes & Leggings: Eudora 3D – “Aerendyl Boots” (Maitreya)

Gloves: Wicca’s Originals – “Roadie Gloves” (Maitreya)

Accessories

Glasses: BONDI – “The Extrovert Sunglasses”

Collar: VOBE – “Stzar Prision Choker”

Piercing: [CX] – “Drop Septum”

Hair & Makeup

Hair: Dura – “Collaboration02_Bob2” (Gacha, Common)

Makeup: Zibska – “Noir Pack 06” (LeLutka Applier)

Lipstick: alaskametro<3 – London” (LeLutka Applier)

Body & Tattoo

Head: LeLutka – “Simone 3.3”

Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”

Ears: .:E.A.Studio:. (Eclipse Art Studio) – “Ears VoDoo”

Tattoo: Mister Razzor – “Dante” (OMEGA Applier)

Poses & Props

Set: Ex Machina – “Tokyo after Dark – The iKON”

Poses: Foxcity

Model & Photographer

Wicca Merlin

Waiting sometimes is so worth it…

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Today I do have a premiere on my blog… It is the first post as a LeLutka blogger! For years I felt not confident with applying for LeLutka, I always felt like I am not yet there where I would stand behind myself enough to dare to apply for a blogger position for LeLutka. I do not know how to explain, it was just a feeling. Then I saw a picture of Mavi Beck – I know her a long time already… we met at AVENUE years ago –  on Flickr. I adore her art work, she has a very special feeling for shadow and lights in my view. When I looked at her stream again, I remembered that she is a LeLutka CSR and again the blogging desire for LeLutka came up to my mind. In her profile she as well stated she is a LeLutka Blogger Manager and so I went to my flickr, looked over my recent pictures, took a deep breath and dared to ask her what the conditions for blogging would be. As always she was super kind and nice – I do not remember that I saw her mad EVER – and told me, that LeLutka does work with Blogotex now too and that I could always fill in an application at the access point at the main store. Driven by my desire to blog for LeLutka, I TPed to their main store and while I was rezzing and looking for the access point sign, my doubts again fell back on me and I became a chicken again and TPed back home. I have no clue, why I feel that way when it comes to LeLutka, but I remember LeLutka always as one of the top stores of SL. Back when I started modeling, we had no mesh heads or bento or all that stuff and LeLutka was one of the most high class fashion brand with the top notch fashion ideas and not only for casual desires. Even back then I loved their creations already and blogged them a few times, when I was able to afford their designs (https://www.flickr.com/photos/wiccamerlin/4261277578/in/dateposted-public/ or https://www.flickr.com/photos/wiccamerlin/4449981194/in/dateposted-public/) Back I would not even dared to think about being a blogger for LeLutka, because I just started blogging and they only had super models and awesome graphical artists in their blogger group, but it always was a dream of mine…

Ok… back to the present 😉 So I was at home again thinking about, if I would bee good enough to apply for the blogger position at LeLutka. I guess it is the high respect I do have for the designers skills and the fact that LeLutka plays in the designer circle for so long and all of my old idols and icons of the modeling world back then did blog for them, made me judge about myself so hard. But after a few days of thinking about it, I thought that I would have nothing to loose by trying. Either they like my work or they don’t and so I went back to the LeLutka main store, hit the access button and filled the application. They already asked for a certain time period to allow them to review my application and so I forced myself to not look up Blogotex every 15 minutes, because iI was so nervous *blushes*

Even if they already asked for a certain period of time the longer I had to wait the more my doubts had party in my brain again… so when they pop-up in Second Life went up with a notification and the black letters on the blue background with the “Accepted” sentence, I jumped in my chair and started squealing, my partner asked me “If I would not have all the cups in the cupboard anymore” (a German quote – I don’t know if that would make much sense in English. When I put it into the translator I got “to have lost one’s marbles”). I really was uber happy and it was hard to calm down for me. I have no idea, I am not a child anymore, but in that moment I felt like one again. That again shows me, sometimes it is worth waiting until the time is right 🙂

I guess it is a no brainer to mention I had to start instant to work on the pictures for my first blog post. I chose “Korina” to be my first official LeLutka post. “Korina was the latest release for the Skin Fair this year and so I started to work on a shape first and then the hard choice of a skin came up. First I thought I would use the original skin, but the I thought, the original skin already is shown on the vendor and I have to be a little more creative and make ‘my’ Korina. To me “Korina” did not appear like a princess, more like a strong adult female with attitude and so I tried to bring Wicca to “Korina”, but not making her a sister… if that makes sense.

The head comes with the usual great quality standard HUD that LeLutka always provides, but you get something new with “Korina” as well. The HUD has now 2 different hair bases to chose from, based on the default SL UV maps. I will cross my fingers that maybe the older heads will get updated with that too, because I really love that feature 🙂

I will play now a littlemore with my new “Korina” head and who knows.. maybe we have another side of “Korina” here soon *winks*

Clothing

Top: Meva – “Alexis”

Pants: adorsy – “Rihanna Jeans Shorts” (Maitreya)

Shoes: UTOPIA@Design – “Azaria” (Maitreya)

Accessories

Earrings: Aurealis – “Statement Earrings”

Rings: Meva – “Maitreya Rings Silver” (Maitreya, Bento)

Hair & Makeup

Hair: no.match – “No.Commitment”

Makeup: Zibska – “Noir Pack 06” (Maitreya Applier)

Lipstick: alaskametro<3 – “London Lipstick” (Maitreya Applier)

Body & Tattoo

Head: LeLutka – “Korina 3.3.1”

Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”

Skin: YS&YS – “Petal Tone 02” (LeLutka & Maitreya Applier)

Tattoo: BODY MOD – “Memories” (OMEGA Applier) Store Closed

Poses & Props

Poses: Foxcity

Backdrop: Pseudo “Paul T Scene Backdrop” (Gacha, Rare)

Model & Photographer

Wicca Merlin

At the Airport…

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Clothing

Top: Gizza – “Oversize Knit Top” (now Giz Seorn)

Pants: Lassitude & Ennui – “Hisa Leather Leggings” (Maitreya Applier)

Shoes: {Livalle} – “Hax Combat Boots” (Maitreya)

Accessories

Bags: Gizza – “Gathered Tote Bag [BW]” (now Giz Seorn), LaGyo – “The Desperado Bag – Bicolor”, The Oak – “Phynto Bag” & Indyra – “Last Call Tote: London Calling”

Hair & Makeup

Hair: no.match – “No.Commission”

Makeup: alaskametro<3 – “Mariposa” (LeLutka Applier)

Lipstick: alaskametro<3 – “London” (LeLutka Applier)

Body & Tattoo

Head: LeLutka – “Simone 3.3”

Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”

Ears: ^^Swallow^^ – “Darkness Ears”

Poses & Props

Pose: Selfmade

Backdrop: Pseudo – “Baggage Claim Scene”

Model & Photographer

Wicca Merlin

Challenge: How to combine Shiny and Matte in one Look?!?

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Today I just wanted to take a day off from SL and RL work and have some fun shooting some pictures without having any task or deadline.

Sometimes it is just nice to go through your inventory, sort your latest purchases and see what you can do with what you got. Especially if it is not full or ready made outfits, but some single items like special leg parts or a corset. I love o do mix and match outfits, even if it is sometimes a pain in the butt with fitted mesh. I mean you can cheat for a picture, but if you want to run around a while in SL with your new look.. not so much :p

I already said that before, but every time I again start mixing and matching, I could start cursing again and again. Not because of the designs, more about the fact that you can not anymore ‘layer’ clothing as easy anymore. Before, when we had standard sizes it wasn’t super easy either but you were able to lightly cheat with the different mesh sizes. Now with fitted mesh we have way more nice fits and movements and we can can have a more unique shape under our clothing again – everything has it’s own advantage I guess :p

Anyways, today I was in a ‘casual’ mood – a Wicca casual mood *winks* To me casual means nothing fancy, nothing elegant just the way how I would do an everyday outfit. Everyone has his/her own way, how they see their casual I guess. I can not even remember, what piece I started with this time. I know I was sorting my objects folder, all the things I got lately and while I was unpacking and sorting things properly into my inventory, trying things to know what exactly it was, if there were no pictures in the folder and some when I was wearing this jacket from A&Y and those cool leg parts from Insomnia Angel. First it did not look as it would fit together… the jacket is kinda shiny leather while the leg parts are made or a mode matte, suede looking leather. Such things poke my inner stubborn and I set myself a challenge to make them fit together – if that makes sense.

I was looking at both designs and tried to figure out what they do have together. First I realized the straps and the buckles on both items – the first ‘connection’ was made. I played around with the awesome HUD from A&Y for the “Siren Cyber Jacket” to see what combination works best color and shade wise with the leg parts. Then I found that neat corset, which had a light shone. Not as much as the jacket bit more than the leg parts. Perfect to create a ‘bridge’ for both parts :). The Corset originally came with a panty, which did not look like I wanted the style to. There the headache began again… challenge: find pants that fit under that corset! I typed ‘shorts’ in the search field of my inventory and found maaaany. Believe it or not, it took me nearly 2 hours until I found 3 (!) out of hundred that would work in terms of being black and fit under the corset and only that one I am wearing did match in the style I was looking for.

The rest should be kinda fast and easy compared to the shorts odyssey… at least I thought so until it came to the shoes… the “Lizzy  – Bandage Socks” – that is how the leg parts are called – have the great option too choose between high and flat feet on the HUD, I really loved that fact. I decided for my cool biker look it has to be flat feet, heavy style. I did aim for the idea to have the boots under the leg parts, but they are so awesome tight fitting, that it took a while until I found shoes that had the perfect height to still fit.

Last but not least I wanted to have some cool earrings – nothing elegant but still visible and not too tiny. I remembered the cool “Akasuna” ears from .:E.A.Studio:., which Shina released at the ACCESS event this month – they were just perfect! With the cool HUD it was relatively easy to match the skin tone (Color under Cursor is your best friend!).

When I was near the end with my styling, I had an IM from Shena Neox. she showed me one of her latest releases for the eBENTO event and it was something that perfectly made the finish for my style. I showed her a gyazo of my look and we agreed that it must have been fate, that we talked in that very moment and she sent me the amazing “”Ambross Slave Collar” in black. Shena began with a shape store first bit lately she started to release mesh accessories – I have to admit I love them 😉 After styling for hours I had no desire to run around for a perfect location, nor I was in the mood to built a set. I recently changed the deco on our store parcel and it made a perfect location, I only did need a bike. I swear I thought I have one in my inventory.. with over 200K inventory, I really thought I have a motorbike somewhere, but I only found a modern, plastic looking one and that was not what I did imagine –  the only thing I found was a Vespa and that looked kinda odd with the style *giggles* After another couple of hours I found a bike at MotoDesign that I liked – Ready to go! I hope you like the results 🙂

Clothing

Jacket: A&Y – “Siren Cyber Jacket” (Maitreya) – NEW @ ACCESS Event \\ March 2019

Top: United Colors – “Nina Corset” (Maitreya)

Pants: Dirty Princess – “Lil Suspense Princess Shorts Denim Black” (Maitreya)

Legs: Insomnia Angel – “Lizzie – Bandage Socks” (Maitreya) – NEW @ Eclipse – October never dies \\ March 2019

Shoes: {Livalle} – “Payne – Combat Boots” (Unrigged Female for Pants)

Accessories

Glasses: Earthstones – “Eyeglasses – Yesterday (S)”

Collar: OPIA – “Ambross Slave Collar Black” – NEW @ eBENTO Event \\ March 2019

Nails: .:E.A.Studio:. – “Obsess Claws” (Maitreya, Bento)

Rings: DRD – “Chunky Rings” (Maitreya, Bento) – NEW @ Eclipse – October never dies! \\ March 2019

Septum: [ kunst ] – “Anuket Septum Ring”

Hair & Makeup

Hair: .Shi – “Sa-Rah V2”

Makeup: Zibska – “Noir Pack 06” (LeLutka Applier)

Lipstick: alaskametro<3 – “London” (LeLutka Applier)

Body & Tattoos

Head: LeLutka – “Simone 3.0”

Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”

Ears: .:E.A.Studio:. – “Akasuna” – NEW @ NEO Japan \\ March/April 2019

Poses & Props

Poses: Foxcity (except #1, which in in the bike)

Bike: MotoDesign – “Dreamcatcher – Indian – EVO”

Location

Wicca’s Originals

Model & Photographer

Wicca Merlin

Swish and Flick

by

“Oh, are you doing magic? Let’s see it, then.”

[J.K Rowling – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone]

Like I did mention in my last post, the “World of Magic” event sadly is over, but I still want to post all those amazing things – it gives me the feeling it would still going on :p . I am sure you will find all of the creations at the main stores of all brands by now.

This time I have the whole scene built out of designs of the event and for the clothing I as well only used items from the “World of Magic” except the shoes.

I love Trouble Dethly’s events, he always picks interesting themes and does invest a huge effort in the sims and event places and builds. What I do love as well are his ‘Fashion Theaters”. To me that is the future of fashion shows in Second Life, as most of the main grind users are sick and tired of boring runway shows. Every thing has its time and realistic, real life like looking fashion shows had their time in the past. When they were new, many people went there and the audience was more than just 10 to 15 models and designers. I remember times, when we had to cap sims at 45 people, to make sure shows could run smoothly, or we even had to have 2 different sims beside each other – one for the audience and one for the models. Those times are gone. I really think there were too  many of those shows in a short time. Certainly there are a few agencies left who still try to do shows, but designers as well found a different way for marketing with all the monthly events. I would not choose one over the other, both ways have/had their advantages and times.

The “Fashion Theater” that Trouble more or less invented in Second Life, combines fashion shows and theater. Usually we have different scenes like in a real theater, and in the beginning of each scene the credits getting read out before the actual scene starts. So it is as well informative about fashion, designers get highlighted and used decor gets it’s spotlight, but at the same time it is entertaining with the story itself. Even as a model – I do have to admit – it is a lot of fun as you prepare different, it is a new challenge. You style up like you would do for a normal fashion show, but with posing you have to be way more creative and it is way more work intense to find the right poses, or even short animations, for the story that is going on, as your character has certain “tasks” to implement in terms of acting what the story determines.

Thereafter was the first Fashion Theater I did and it was a huge success. Back then we did a post apocalyptic version of the ‘Taming of the Shrew”. The story was adapted to the different genre and lightly changed, but the essence was the same. The last one we did was “The Tale of the Three Brothers”, an adaption or a tribute to the wizarding fairytale told to young witches and wizards in the world set by JK Rowling. Within canon, it is believed to have been written by Beedle the Bard and published as part of his works called “The Tales of Beedle the Bard.” Most believe it to be a story that teaches children the virtue of humility and wisdom. Others, feel that it is in reference to the Deathly Hallows. For the Potter fans, the concept made it’s debut in the seventh book and are considered three highly powerful magical artefacts.This time we had a very small cast, but we had tons of fun.

I would like to thank Silly Avro, Luka Benton, Sungyoung Holloway, Redclaw Inshan and Trouble Dethly for an amazing time, lot of fun rehearsals and 3 wonderful evenings of acting. Trouble had the most work since he wrote the whole thing and had to coordinate our chaos troupe and he did a hell of a job with that.

I can’t wait for the next one and I do not want to tell too much yet but… I have a feeling it will have to do something with doing a tribute to GoT and I will keep my fingers crossed to be casted as the Dragon Lady!

Clothing

Outfit: Nishi – “World of Magic – Uniform” (Maitreya) & “World of Magic – Memvial”

Shoes: NYU – “MaryJane w/High Socks” (Maitreya)

Accessories

Wand: [The Forge] – “Fibia Wand”

Hair & Makeup

Hair: Wasabi – “Queenie”

Makeup: Zibska – “Noir Pack 06” (LeLutka Applier)

Lipstick: alaskametro<3 – “London” (LeLutka Applier)

Body & Tattoo

Head:  LeLutka – “Simone 3.3”

Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”

Poses

Poses: Le Poppycock & Poseidon

Set

{C&C} – “The Serpent’s Lair”

22769 – “Sloppy Rug” (Gacha, Common)

22769 – “Worn Rug” (Gacha, Common)

KOPFKINO – “The Magic Traveller Chest”

KOPFKINO – “Magic Potions and Books”

KOPFKINO – “Magic Papers”

DISORDERLY. – “/ Book Magic / Magical Potions”

DISORDERLY. – “/ Book Magic / Not so Magical Potions”

DISORDERLY. – “/ Book Magic / Magical Suitcase”

DISORDERLY. – “/ Book Magic / Not so Magical Suitcase”

DISORDERLY. – “/ Book Magic / Magical Birdcage”

Raindale – “Magic World pensieve +particles”

Elm. – “Trunk Shelf [Tan]”

Elm. – “School Supplies: Pointed Hat”

Elm. – “School Supplies: Single Scroll”

Elm. – “School Supplies: Brass Scale”

Elm. – “School Supplies: Glass Phial Set”

Elm. – “School Supplies: Scrolls Stack”

Elm. – “School Supplies: Crystal Ball”

Elm. – “School Supplies: Wand Box”

Elm. – “School Supplies: Cauldron”

Elm. – “School Supplies: Broomstick”

MadPea – “Potion – Elixir of Life (Gift)”

MadPea – “Potion – Snake Oil (Gift)”

MadPea – “Potion – Love Potion (Gift)”

MadPea – “Potion – Lost Souls (Gift)”

O*O – “Sitting doll 1 (Static) – Snake”

O*O – “Sitting doll 2 (Static) – Snake”

O*O – “Sitting doll 3 (Static) – Snake”

O*O – “Sitting doll 4 (Static) – Snake”

[Merak] – “Hermione’s Desk”

[Merak] – “Hermione’s Chair”

[Merak]– “Hermione’s Study Board”

[Merak] – “Hermione’s Bag”

[Merak] – “Hermione’s Pendant”

[Merak] – “Hermione’s Notes”

[ContraptioN] Decor – “Eccentric’s Curios Mysterious Box”

[ContraptioN] Decor – “Eccentric’s Curios Orbitus”

[ContraptioN] Decor – “Eccentric’s Curios Reflector A”

[ContraptioN] Decor – “Eccentric’s Curios Reflector B”

[ContraptioN] Decor – “Eccentric’s Curios Reflector C”

Noxturnal – “Magic Witch Ball – Silver”

Model & Photographer

Wicca Merlin

Surreal Sunset

by

Picture made for Eclipse Magazine // February 2019 (https://issuu.com/eclipsemagazinesl/docs/eclipse_magazine_february_2019)

It’s clear as the day
Never gonna cast my anchor out
I’m a free spirit, torn in a way
I can’t stay here for too long
I got to keep on moving on
Nothing fades as nothing changes
This old place is driving me crazy

Live on and dream on

[Amy Macdonald]

When I was asked to do a spread of E.V.E Studio for the actual issue of the Eclipse Magazine, I was mega happy. I do love the creations from Noke Yuitza – owner and designer of E.V.E Studio – for a long time and he never stops to amaze me with his new designs. His imagination must be never ending huge 😉

This picture was just one out of six I made for the magazine and I will try to show them one by one, as each one has it’s own theme and mood behind it and deserves it’s own spotlight.  This one probably is the most soft and dreamy one and I thought, it would make a good start for the series.

The imagination behind it was a peaceful, dreamy sunset on a surreal planet.

Accessories

Body Glitter: E.V.E Studio – “Rapunzel Suit Glitter” (Maitreya)

Collar & Back: E.V.E Studio – “Broken Chains: Scattered Roses”

Horns: E.V.E Studio – “Maleficent GW Horns”

Spine: Salt & Pepper – “Skeleton Spine” (Maitreya)

Nails: FORMANAILS – “Wedding” (Maitreya, Bento)

Hair & Makeup

Makeup & Lipstick: alaskametro<3 – “New Wave” (LeLutka Applier)

Hair: lock&tuft – “Bass”

Body & Tattoo

Head: LeLutka – “Simone 3.3”

Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”

Ears: .:E.A.Studio:. – “Nepthune V2”

Tattoo: [White~Widow] – “Nerve” (Maitreya Applier)

Lashes: alaskametro<3 – “Slay” (LeLutka Applier)

Poses & Props

Pose: Foxcity – “Legs for Days-2m” (Bento)

Set: E.V.E Studio – “Sunny Spells”, “Dystopias Chained Roses”, “Poison Rain Spikes Grass” & “Koi Square Confetti Path”

Model & Photographer

Wicca Merlin

Dreams or Reality?

by

I know I’ll never know a peaceful night again
Afraid they’ll hear me
They don’t fear me
Punishment for me of a moral crime
The debt was never paid completely
[Disturbed]

I am sure you know what I mean… those “memories” that never leave us even if their clarity fades and they get kinda blurry?
Those things we do not really want to remember, but we can’t completely forget?
I do have those and from time to time they do knock me out for a while. The older I become, the more those memories become emotions and I do forget the exact moment of my life. Sometimes they do feel like faded or blurred echoes. Sometimes they even feel kinda unreal to me, even if I know, that it happened. Exactly that kind of feelings I wanted to bring on my pictures and to me it worked 🙂
I was trying and thinking about that for a longer time, but I never felt like it came out right.
The poses from Le Poppycock, which I found while I was looking for another pose set, gave me the idea, how I could manage to picture my feelings. To bring emotions on pictures, is always a hard challenge for me as I feel it very difficult to bring those on a static picture. Emotions are very personal and everybody will have different impressions and/or expressions of a certain picture.
To me it was the outfit from Enfant Terible, an innocent, sweet dancer outfit with ballet shoes, the dark vibe of the dark vibe of the Asylum from Ex Machina and the morbid skeleton paired with the amazing poses from Le Poppycock, that made the perfect contrast and as well the controversial and mixed feelings I do have with such moments. I did abstain from strong make up to give the whole look a more pure and fragile look. The lightly messy hair from no.match was perfect for the style as well, it underlined the desperation in some way for me with all the wisps and strands of hair.

The “Welcome Home Asylum” from Ex Machina is an amazing background for pictures. It does have 2 different cells and a hallway in front of it. The backdrop has 4 active light sources – 2 in the cells and 2 in the hallway – which can be turned off or edited through your edit window. The whole backdrop looks best, if you turn advanced lightning on, as all textures are baked and use advanced lightning model materials. But even without that high graphic settings it looks stunning and detailed. I really adore Hatti’s texturing skills… Hatris Panacek, owner and genius designer of Ex Machina, states herself that she was inspired by the horrors of the insane asylums of the past catching those creepy atmospheres you can still find in some abandoned structures around the world. I just wanted to share those non edited peeks on the backdrop, because my pictures are dark and I did not want to miss to show all those lovely details of the backdrop – at least the 2 rooms that I used for this pictures. For the other one I will have another post soon 😉

Outfit

Outfit: Enfant Terrible – “Skye Dancer” (Gacha) – NEW @ Epiphany

Makeup & Hair

Hair: no.match – “No.Modify”
Eyeshadow: Zibska – “Noir Pack 06” (LeLutka Applier)
Lipstick: alaskametro<3 – “London” (LeLutka Applier)
Makeup:

Body & Tattoo

Head: LeLutka – “Simone 3.3”
Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”
Ears: .:E.A.Studio:. – “Thauron”

Poses & Props

Poses (incl. Skeleton): Le Poppycock – “Necromantic” (Gacha)
Background: Ex Machina – “Welcome Home Asylum PhotoScene v1.1”

Model & Photographer